IntroductionThere
are a variety of corporate philosophies among audio component
manufacturers, from the budget end with gobs of features and extras,
usually at the expense of sonics, through those with bare bones
features and somewhat utilitarian cosmetics, focusing on quality, sound
and value. At the extreme opposite end of the spectrum are the
manufacturers who design and offer components without cost as a primary
concern. Anthem, which is part of Sonic Frontiers International under
the Paradigm Corporation, has historically placed itself in an
interesting position between these two philosophies. They have earned a
reputation for excellent sonics at relatively affordable price points
positioned well below the absolute high end. Typically, they have not
reduced their feature set in the process and have gone one step further
in their new Statement series of electronics. The Statement component
line is designed to compete toe-to-toe with anything else on the
market, regardless of price. In fact, Anthem welcomes direct
comparisons. Far from the stratospheric price point that many flagship
processors command today, the Statement components are slightly pricier
than the still-offered standard Anthem line. The subject of this review
is the new Statement D1 Preamplifier/Processor/Tuner, with a suggested
retail price of $4,999.

DescriptionAlthough
the Statement D1 is built on the same platform as the proven,
well-regarded AVM20, this is where the similarity ends, according to
Anthem. The D1 contains custom-designed circuit boards as well as the
highest-quality active and passive components, including AKM® AK5394A
analog-to-digital converters capable of up to 24-bit 192-kHz
resolution. Processing is provided by dual Motorola® DSP 56367 engines,
and all digital inputs are converted to 192 kHz by the D1’s own
built-in state-of-the-art up-sampler. The Anthem D1 is an extremely
versatile and sophisticated component that therefore warrants a lengthy
description to represent the multitude of features and functions.
Cosmetically, the D1 is very elegant; the black faceplate features
gently curved wings on both sides, with a liberal sprinkling of buttons
and controls. The overall look is somewhat reminiscent of the Anthem
AVM20 and AVM30 home theater preamplifiers, but with a touch more class
and grace. When powered, the numerous indicator LEDs and the large,
informative main display centered on the front panel glow a wonderful
blue. The display can be turned off, set to four different intensity
levels and briefly brightened after you make an adjustment, the amount
of time variable between one and 15 seconds.

Most of the
functionality of the Anthem D1 is controllable via the front panel,
which is laid out in a very logical fashion. Despite this, the controls
are numerous and the adequately contrasted white labels too small by
necessity to make this convenient for my aging eyes, unless the panel
is well illuminated and in very close proximity. I am sure the
locations of key buttons could be easily recalled after repeated use,
but why bother when you can adjust everything from the listening seat
with the supplied remote control? I found the Statement D1 Universal
Learning Remote to be much better than average, with its logical button
placement, differing button shapes and sizes and backlighting. As with
many remotes, secondary button functions are not visible even when
backlit, but in general, it was easy and intuitive to use. Since my
home theater system’s electronics component complement changes more
rapidly than I am willing to re-program any remote, I cannot comment on
the D1 remote’s abilities as a universal controller, other than to say
that it can have nine “personalities” according to the Anthem manual.

As
expected, the rear panel is quite full of inputs and outputs, starting
with the IEC power cord connection at the lower left. The D1 has seven
single-ended stereo analog inputs (selectable as direct or DSP), each
with its own associated coaxial RCA digital audio, composite video and
S-Video receptacles. Four sets of HDTV-compatible component video jacks
are assignable to any input. As is usually the case, the D1 does not
provide Onscreen Display (OSD) for the two sets of component video
outputs, but it also does not perform any format translation between
composite, S-Video and component video. I do not consider this a huge
problem, but it is important to realize this rather than wonder why
there is no video signal present at the composite output when only
S-video and component connections are made from video sources. This
happened to me and caused confusion for a few moments, but was quickly
rectified by adding a single cable once I realized my error.

In addition to the seven coaxial digital audio inputs, the Anthem has
three optical (TOS) inputs and one balanced AES/EBU-XLR jack, all of
which are assignable. Stereo audio, as well as composite and S-video
outputs, are provided for Zone 2, Zone 3 and two full audio/video tape
loops. Two coaxial outputs can provide digital audio from any source
set to “digital” or “analog DSP,” with adjustable bit depths (16 and
24) and sample frequencies (44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz and 96 kHz). The
two-channel analog inputs, the balanced XLR input and the six-channel
single-ended input (primarily intended for DVD-Audio and multi-channel
SACD players) can be set to bypass all of the D1’s digital stages or to
include DSP processing, such as bass management, time alignment,
surround modes and bass/treble controls. When the six-channel input is
selected, the video signal from the DVD input is routed to the video
outputs. Both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA outputs are provided
for 10 channels, with a default to a full 7.1 system, plus a second
center channel and second subwoofer. The second subwoofer and center
channel XLR outputs can be reconfigured as balanced outputs for Zone 2,
which could come in handy to minimizing noise for longer runs often
associated with auxiliary zones.

All of the control-related input/output is located near the right top
portion of the rear panel. A bi-directional RS-232 port is provided for
firmware upgrades, making the D1 upgrade friendly. Three powered
Infrared (IR) receivers allow for remote control usage from other
locations and a pair of IR emitters enables control of your source
components from any location that has an IR repeater. Finally, any
components that have trigger provisions can be automatically turned on
and off with the D1 via three flexible relay triggers. Whew, that
covers most of the D1, although I will not guarantee I have remembered
everything, whether it is because of space constraints or unintentional
omission. Later in the review, I will discuss details of the D1’s
functionality and set-up, which clearly rivals almost anything on the
market today.

Set-upWhen
I acquire a new component, I am extremely impatient to get it in the
system, and I find myself immediately checking it out and playing with
it. Forget reading the details in the manual, let’s get it cranking.
This is often easier said than done with something as complex as the
Anthem D1. Fortunately, this is where the convenient “Quick Start”
section near the front of the manual comes into play. You can set up a
few sources and your amplifiers in a relatively short period of time
with the aid of this section, particularly the schematic diagrams. Once
the unit was roughly inserted into the system, I then read the manual
to fine-tune and optimize the D1, while enjoying it all at the same
time. Often this is the case, as I like to just watch a movie or
concert video right off the bat after minimal optimization, satisfying
my unhealthy need for instant gratification, all the while keeping my
expectations relatively low and realistic during these initial stages.

The entire set-up menu structure can be accessed via the OSD or the
front panel, a welcome feature for those who would otherwise be forced
to turn on their video display or projector every time an adjustment is
desired. The OSD is not available on the component video outputs, but
the user can individually select whether or not the composite and
S-Video outputs receive it. The position of the OSD overlay (bottom,
middle or top), the background color, and whether the Main and Zone 2
video outputs receive various adjustment updates are all configurable.
The adjustable color is said to allow different monitors to synchronize
properly if the menus appear unstable. With my projector, the lower
portion of the display flickered somewhat regardless of the background
chosen, but I suspect that was an issue with the projector, not the D1.

Even with features common to virtually all home theater preamps and
receivers such as bass management, listener position and loudspeaker
set-up, the Anthem D1 sets itself apart by virtue of its extra
versatility and adjustability. For example, listening positions are
adjustable to within 0.5 feet (or 0.2 meters), and loudspeaker
calibration and main output levels in 0.5 dB increments (the
unfortunately normal 1 dB increment is much too coarse, in my opinion).
All crossover frequencies are adjustable in convenient five Hertz
increments, and the cutoff point for the subwoofer and the high pass
frequencies for the fronts, center, surrounds and rears are all
completely independent.

The Speaker Configuration Menu has the usual settings for speakers
present (5.1, 7.1 etc.), size (small or large), and crossover
frequency. But there are a few new twists incorporated in the Anthem
D1, including special equalization settings for center channels placed
in a wall unit, on a bookshelf or on top of a TV (with settings
available for the width of the TV). I bypassed this equalization, since
my current available center channel speakers are stand-mounted below a
projection screen. Surround and rear speakers are selected according to
their radiation patterns, either direct or dipole. Anthem claims that
no delay is necessary for dipoles speakers since the sound is already
delayed through room reflections. Any surround speakers specified as
dipole will have their distance set automatically equal the greatest
distance entered in the “listening position” menu, thereby ensuring
they will have no delay. I’m not sure if I agree with this or not,
since there is still significant direct localization heard from even
dipoles. My reference Revel surrounds are set as direct monopoles
anyway, so I did not play with this feature extensively, nor did it
concern me.

Subwoofer hook-up is very flexible, starting with the selection of
none, one, or two, and the option to receive low bass from all
speakers, even those set to large. I have run into a few processors and
receivers that have this “double bass” as the only option, which I do
not think is proper. Having the option to augment all bass content is
fine, but I don’t want it forced on me and, thankfully, Anthem has done
it right. Throughout this evaluation, I never employed this added bass
feature. A very useful room resonance filter with adjustable center
frequency, filter depth and width is available to tame a prominent room
response peak. I have discussed this issue in a couple of my recent
subwoofer reviews, and I applaud Anthem for including this in their D1
processor. A variable level test tone sweep from 18 Hertz up to the
crossover frequency facilitates finding these peaks, and it is also
useful for optimizing the placement of subwoofer(s). I utilized both
single and dual subwoofers over the last few months, and the filter
came in very handy, especially in single subwoofer applications.
Subwoofer options also include phase, polarity, peak level and THX
boundary gain compensation. Two complete bass management configurations
are allowed, referenced as “Cinema” and “Music.” The music
configuration defaults to a copy of cinema, which is how I left it.
After much finagling, I settled on a 60 Hz crossover for the left and
right main speakers, 80 Hz for the surrounds, and either 80 or 100 Hz
for the center channel as I fluctuated between single and dual
subwoofers.

After setting up the loudspeakers in my 7.1 system by entering the
distances and setting the levels to within 0.5 dB according to my Radio
Shack SPL meter, I moved on to source set-up. I won’t even attempt to
explain all of the options here, since it would take much too long.
Sources can be renamed, audio inputs can be specified as digital,
analog pass-through or analog DSP, video synch-up delays can be set,
video source assigned, subwoofer configuration chosen, and mode and THX
preferences can be picked that will be applied when a source is
selected or main power turned on. Anthem’s “last used” selection was
most useful, since I tend to use a universal CD/DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD
player, and spin discs in groups of a particular type, making the most
likely choice whatever was previously selected. Relative levels for
each input can be chosen, which is useful for matching volume levels,
or purposely lowering some, similar to what I chose with the FM/AM
tuner to make it come on gracefully.

One option I used extensively, to great effect, was copying the
surround speaker information to the rear channels. Often, I would
temporarily lower the level of the rear speakers, and the end result
was more spacious without being obtrusive. Speaking of temporary level
adjustments, I consider remote control hot keys that provisionally
change front, subwoofer, surround, and center speaker levels to be
mandatory, while adjusting to specific DVD mixes, different DVD sources
and increasing the center and lowering the subwoofer, especially for
late-night listening.

The D1 features six different timers similar to an alarm clock, two
each for all three zones. At times, my home theater room doubles as a
sleeping space, so I utilized the main zone timers for a gentle wake-up
in the morning, and also to turn off at night after I had fallen
asleep. Each timer can be set to function on weekdays, weekends or
both, which is very convenient for nine-to-fivers that operate on
different weekend schedules.

Initially, I had a problem with occasional spurious noise bursts in the
surround speaker outputs when a new digital stream was detected. This
problem was readily solved by downloading new firmware, and changing an
initial signal mute delay parameter in the “Source Set-up.” Software
updating is very simple with the D1, simply download the latest
firmware from the Anthem Statement website, “statement.anthemav.com,”
and connect your PC or laptop via a serial port to the D1. One word of
caution might be in order: updating the firmware took a very long time,
at least from my fairly new laptop. Until I disabled all screen and
power saver options, the process was continually aborted before
completion. I spent one scary night with a completely dead D1, but once
I forced the laptop to be live at all times, the situation was quickly
rectified. (After brought to Anthem's attention, they will be adding a
notice in the manual regarding disabling power saver during
installation.

Music
After
an initial period of casual listening and video viewing, I started my
evaluation process with some two-channel listening. I find this an
effective way of checking out the basic sonic character of a component
without the confusion and added stimulus of additional loudspeakers and
video. A few sessions with one of my favorite late-night CDs, Mazzy
Starr’s So Tonight That I Might See (Capitol), made it clearly evident
that the Anthem D1 was very transparent and capable of revealing detail
even in subtle music such as this. The acoustic guitar and tambourine
in “Five String Serenade” were crisp and clean through the D1, the
strings smooth behind Starr’s gentle, almost emotionless vocals. In my
favorite cut,” Into Dust,” Starr’s breathy, soothing vocals floated
above the guitar and occasional pick squeaks.

I
was ecstatic when I spotted Billy Cobham’s classic fusion album
Spectrum (Atlantic Recording Corp.), released on DVD-Audio, with both
multi-channel and stereo high-resolution audio available. I have been a
huge Cobham fan since his days with Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the
addition of former bandmate Jan Hammer on keyboards and a young Tommy
Bolin on guitar makes this a can’t miss disc. Multi-channel music and
systems can sound surprisingly unexciting, and in some ways less
three-dimensional than two-channel, like a sphere of sound around you,
but with little or no thickness to it. This was not true of the title
cut, which features one of my favorite drum solos ever recorded.
Despite the relatively non-aggressive use of surrounds, the
presentation through the Anthem was not flat in the least. Cobham’s
larger than life drum set was very deep across the front of the stage,
the image moving in a circle around him rather than just back and forth
between the three front speakers. The combination of the D1 and the
high-resolution DVD-Audio source was a perfect match for recreating the
sweetness, as well as the detail of what I assume the master tapes
contain. This was especially apparent when focusing on Bolin’s guitar
work, as well as Hammer’s piano. Closely microphoned piano is a very
difficult test for systems, often sounding harsh, like fingernails on a
blackboard, to me. The D1’s smooth presentation of piano breaks in “To
the Women in my Life” and the lusciously detailed bass and snappy
percussion created a satisfying contrast to the immediately preceding
cut, “Stratus.” Cobham’s ambitious assault was spectacular during
“Snoopy” without hurting my ears or overpowering the back-and-forth
play between Hammer and Bolin. Switching to the high-resolution
two-channel version of this cut verified all of the above observations,
with perhaps an increased front depth, although the soundstage of
course collapsed to the front of the room. Regardless of the format,
multi-channel or stereo, the music flowing through the D1 was fabulous,
a reflection of the source, the Anthem in no way a limiting factor.

The Anthem D1 contains a very high-quality headphone preamplifier,
designed with the Motorola® MC33078 operational amplifiers, and Wima
MKS 2 metalized polyester film capacitors, renowned for minimizing
high-frequency distortion. The combination of a dedicated, fully
discrete output stage and ±15 Volts DC power rails enables wide volume
capability, and the ability to handle both high and low impedance
headphones alike. I verified this to my satisfaction by utilizing a
wide variety of headphones from Grado, Sennheiser and AKG, all of which
sounded open, dynamic and effortless. The headphone amplifier can
operate with or without the main speakers on, and has separate volume,
bass and treble controls. Anthem also incorporates a very competent,
versatile AM FM tuner section, with 18 FM and six AM presets. This did
an excellent job pulling in my favorite local radio stations, as well
as some not-so-local ones, with exemplary rejection and fidelity, and I
enjoyed listening to them as background throughout the day.

MoviesMuch
to my surprise – if you would have told me this a year ago, I would
have said you were crazy – I spend as much time (actually, often more)
watching movies on my home theater as I do listening to music. I
appreciated my D1-based system with music of all sorts, but despite my
increased viewing of movies, it is becoming increasingly difficult to
write about what I hear in soundtracks. The more realistic and more
dynamic it sounds, the more detail it extracts, the more I am pulled
into the movie and the less I think about my home theater system and/or
the particular component I am evaluating.

Not
surprisingly, the D1 was spectacular with blockbuster films. Over the
last month, I watched (again) the entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy
(New Line Home Entertainment), including the extended versions of “The
Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers,” of course, with my kids,
and it was the best I have heard them sound, including in the theater.
I did not think about the sound during the movie, it just fit right in
and melded with the video: intelligible, subtle and shocking when an
mumakil (giant elephant) stomped through the room. I feared my
six-year-old would have nightmares for months after witnessing and
hearing the terrifying spider Shelob slither after Frodo, the D1
effectively placing us in the middle of her lair, but fortunately she
is braver than I, who would have been permanently warped had I
experienced that at her age.

Despite
the D1’s exemplary performance with action sequences, it was often the
more subtle soundtracks that enforced my appreciation of its
capabilities. One unlikely example was “The Falcon and the Snowman”
(MGM/UA Home Entertainment). This DVD is an old two-channel mix, not
very exciting sonically, both in quality and because of the absence of
crashes and explosions (this is not a blast-‘em-up film). But when the
occasional cut in Pat Metheny’s wonderful soundtrack escalated, my
system responded with stunning detail, three-dimensional and exciting.
The title song featuring David Bowie on vocals put a huge smile on my
face, snapping my ears to attention.

Despite
being somewhat long in the tooth as far as concert videos, the Eagles’
Hell Freezes Over (Image Entertainment) still gets a lot of playing
time, many times as a demo for music enthusiasts who visit my home. The
DTS soundtrack still sounds excellent to my ears, never more so then
through the Anthem D1. The acoustic guitars throughout the unplugged,
relatively mellow opening section of the concert were crisp and
detailed and the percussion parts jumped out with clarity and snap,
particularly in cuts like “Love Will Keep Us Alive.” “Get Over It,” a
song which I was never overly fond of before watching this video, has
become a favorite of my friends and I when we are in the mood to rock.
I have never heard it as dynamic as through the D1, with the drums
sharp and visceral and the power of a live concert as realistically
reproduced as I have heard in my system.

The DownsideI
have very little to complain about concerning the Anthem D1, but there
are a few minor things that come to mind. Although clearly open to
personal preference, I did not care for the exponential sensitivity of
the remote volume control. Beyond changing a dB or so, the level jumped
past where I ultimately wanted it, somewhat offsetting the very welcome
granularity of 0.5 dB steps in level.

A lack of DVI and
or HDMI inputs is also a shortcoming for those who have (or see the
potential for) more than one HD source that need to be connected
digitally. You can run HD sources through the D1 via component video,
so if you had, for example, an HD TiVo and a D-VHS deck, you could run
the HD TiVo to your monitor digitally via HDMI and then run your D-VHS
to your D1. In the future, you might expect to be able to seamlessly
switch HDMI and or DVI in your preamp and there are even rumors that
such a card may be coming as an add-on for the D1, yet nothing official
has been announced.

The lack of translation between video input formats can be
inconvenient, although this is not a very serious concern. In
comparison to the Mark Levinson No. 40 AV preamp priced at $30,000,
this is a downside. At $4,995, consumers should understand why there is
no video transcoding in the D1.

Finally, while I do feel that the D1 is a top-flight performer, you
could argue that the law of diminishing returns is approaching even
within Anthem’s own line, specifically with the AVM30. I did not have
an AVM30 for direct comparison, but based my past experience with its
predecessor, the AVM20, it is a capable performer and flexible unit
that may well suffice in systems with anything less than reference
quality surrounding electronics and loudspeakers.

ConclusionI
am sure it is obvious if you have read through to this point that I am
quite enamored with the Anthem Statement D1 Preamplifier • Processor •
Tuner. Although I have spent considerable time with many high-end
contenders such as the Lexicon MC-12 and Meridian preamp/processors, I
did not have any of them handy for comparisons. Since I strongly
believe that sonic “memory” over previous events and components is at
best misleading, and at worst totally incorrect, I will refrain from
direct comparisons between the Anthem and any of its esteemed
competition. Additionally, while I do think that short term, direct A-B
comparisons are valid, I also maintain that long-term impressions of a
product are just as important, if not more so. In this situation, I am
applying my judgment based on my impressions of my home theater system
during the time that the Anthem D1 was at the controls. Am I playing
more music, reviving old music I have not thought about for ages and
are movies drawing me in? With the Anthem D1, the answer to these
questions is a simple yes – I have played the daylights out of my
system these last few months, alternating between listening to little
details and harmonies, or just sitting back with my eyes closed and
smiling as I re-embrace old favorites. I can give no higher
recommendation than to say that my system has never sounded better than
with the Anthem Statement D1 at the reins.